


Which 'Fanfic Trope' Is Your Life?

by Marudny_Robot



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Red Robin (Comics)
Genre: Don't copy to another site, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fandom Allusions & Cliches & References, Humor, Idiots in Love, M/M, Mentions of other characters - Freeform, Mild Language, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Parody, Photographer Tim Drake, Pre-Relationship, Tim Drake Birthday Hunt, Writer Jason Todd
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:33:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25380178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marudny_Robot/pseuds/Marudny_Robot
Summary: (...) When Tim just made a note for himself, to get a second phone and encrypt the shit out of it, so even Oracle wouldn’t know what fandom hellhole he was swimming in after dark, he had a fathom thought that he might have made a grave mistake.But at this point he was too tired, so he had ignored said thought.Trying to get back to the real world, Tim silently closed the fanfic about Robin#2 and started his day.He hoped Steph wouldn’t learn about what had happened.She surely wouldn’t let him live.(...)
Relationships: Tim Drake/Jason Todd
Comments: 35
Kudos: 192





	Which 'Fanfic Trope' Is Your Life?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ScreamingBean](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScreamingBean/gifts).



> Prize for ScreamingBean for Capes&Coffee discord server event: "Tim Drake Birthday Hunt"!
> 
> Hope you will have fun reading!

Tim was sitting on his bed with his right leg propped up on the pillows.

His ankle wasn’t broken, but twisting an ankle once or twice wasn’t anything unusual in their ass-kicking business.

It still resulted with him not patrolling tonight.

Laptop on his left displayed finished rapport on Cervsky’s case he was working on till his injury. For what Tim was happy it was done, it meant he had nothing else to do  _ now _ . All his other cases were redistributed between Batgirl, Titans, Batman and whoever worked with Bruce. He’s office-work was also done, and Lucius and Tam were happy to remind him that he doesn’t have to do more.  _ Heck _ , even college homework was finished with a few weeks in advance, which Tim had to compare to some kind of a miracle.

But, he was still bored. And, with him not being sleepy, there had to be  _ something _ he could do to fill the time.

TV shows were an option – till he remembered he preferred watching them with friends and family. Cold cases? But that would result in him getting worked up and not sleeping at all – and he promised Alfred he would actually sleep those 8 hours tonight.

Long story short, that was how Tim found himself scrolling through social media, then searching through superheroes tags, then finally falling hard into  _ superhero fandoms _ .

Just to be clear – fandoms,  _ especially superhero fandoms _ , weren’t anything new for Timothy Drake. He often would jokingly call himself a  _ connoisseur _ of those, whenever he remembered his pre-Robin days: full of boredom and lacking parental supervision.

Lazily looking through #Gotham Vigilantes tag on Tales Of Our Own, he realized that said fandom got even bigger since the time he last checked it. Not only were there more vigilantes in character tags, Wayne family popped out here and then!

_ But _ , what probably shocked Timothy the most, was that Robins apparently were now  _ numbered _ .

Searching through more of those, he learned that fandom collectively didn’t know anything about who really was behind the masks. They more or less guessed who changed to which mantel – but it was enough for Tim to feel less stressed about potentially compromised identities.

They were aware that Robin#1 was now Nightwing and Spoiler was Batgirl#3. There was a popular headcanon that Robin#3 was Red Robin now, but nothing apparently was proven. Some have thought that Robin#3 died and Red Robin was Robin#2, who has somehow came back. No one knew whom Red Hood could be.

It was all weird, but interesting for Tim to learn how the public saw them. Who thought who would work best with whom and why. Or  _ the dramas _ which were based on few interactions recorded and rumors culminating through underground circles up to your everyday citizen.

And,  _ of course _ , there were ships.

Some popular ones included those between vigilantes, like Batgirl#1/Nightwing, or Batman/Catwoman. Apparently villains also got some love in the fandom, as Harley Quinn/Poison Ivy ship wasn’t that small.

But, what fandom liked to do the most, was – somehow – shipping their vigilantes alter ego with their (true, but unknown to fandom) civilians selves. The reigning champion in quantity of fanworks was still Batman/Bruce Wayne, but Red Robin/Tim Drake tag also had quite a following.

Ignoring most of those and being very selective in his choice, Tim finally stumbled onto something he hadn’t expected to see: a fic he thought was lost in purges and which he thought of fondly.

Said fic was  _ not only _ published on this platform, the author had also  _ rewritten it _ and  _ finished _ .

It was  _ a sign _ , which Tim didn’t plan on  _ ignoring _ .

But Tim could as well be Jared, 19, because he sure as hell couldn’t read this sign as a warning one.

After  _ only a few hours _ later, when Sun was slowly rising, Tim was finally finishing that epic multichapter behemoth of a fic. It was, simply,  _ amazing _ . The best thing Tim had done for himself in the last weeks, 10 out of 10, he would do it again and – with quick glance at author’s TO3 page, which showed many more with same pairings – Tim knew what his next days would now look like.

When Tim just made a note for himself, to get a second phone and encrypt the shit out of it, so even Oracle wouldn’t know what fandom hellhole he was swimming in after dark, he had a fathom thought that he might have made a grave mistake.

But at this point he was too tired, so he had ignored said thought.

Trying to get back to the real world, Tim silently closed the fanfic about Robin#2 and started his day.

He hoped Steph wouldn’t learn about what had happened.

She surely wouldn’t let him live.

&

Steph learned about his new hobby. Accidentally.

Only because she send him Robin#3/Spoiler fanfic for laughs, and he – very tiredly back then – replied that he read that one already. And then sent her a better one.

He should have felt ashamed back then, but  _ surprisingly _ it all turned out in them discussing possible and current ships in the superhero community and which ship would be better: Catwoman/Batman or Catwoman/Bruce Wayne?

(It was neither. Bruce Wayne should be with Superman, while Batman should join Lois Lane and Clark Kent. Tim had saved a thesis on that. Kon, as most of the fandom, disagreed but he had Bart and Cassie on his side.)

So, that was how Steph learned only part of his hobby and agreed not to bother him if he sent her some fanworks with Spoiler/BlackBat ship to her.

But, besides Stephanie, he was cautious with letting anyone know what he was doing and almost never parted with his new encrypted smartphone, with which even Oracle would be jealous of.

That was more or less how Tim started to read more than just Gen fics in this specific fandom.

At first, he didn’t really want to look through other pairings with their vigilantes persona (he wasn’t interested  _ that way _ in Batman and Bruce, period).

But then, he had to blame “JaneAustenIsBetterThanButtman” for writing such an excellent Robin#2 fic. And if it wasn’t for them he wouldn’t be looking through their other works and wouldn’t find the fics his younger self would  _ pay _ to read about.

_ Seriously. _ Little Timmy would have fainted from happiness if he had learned his self-insert shipping with second Robin would turn into actual popular pairing. And “JaneAustenIsBetterThanButtman” had written  _ a lot _ of Tim Drake-Wayne/Robin#2 ones.

Anyway, said fanfic author was a blessing and a curse for Timothy, about which he didn’t forget to let them know, each time he left a comment under each of their fics.

_ But then _ , not so later, commenting on their fics turned to joining the same discords they were in.  _ Then _ somehow that turned into discussing on the same topics together.  _ Then _ into sharing an idea for a ship.  _ Then _ into Tim making fake covers for their fic then talking about stupid shit.  _ Then _ into talking about stupid shit in DMs…

It wasn’t even half a year and Tim was already thinking about what his friend (because he and “JaneAustenIsBetterThanButtman” were now fandom friends, there was no questioning it) was doing when he was patrolling through Gotham and thinking about some next cover.

He had a few ideas, but while for most he could make pictures in Gotham, some would have to wait till Tim went out of town (and no, he didn’t want to use some stock images –  _ his photos _ or  _ nothing _ ).

So, it was like that, when patrolling by the Eastside and wondering what would be the best angle for the picture, for that one scene in the latest chapter that Tim wanted to scream about ( _ because what the fuck, who leaves at the cliffhanger like that?! _ ), that was the moment when he saw Jason.

Or rather, Red Hood. Casually patrolling through Tim’s part of Gotham.

Jason saw him too and waited patiently for Red Robin to join him on a rooftop.

That didn’t tell anything good to Tim. He might have demand some intel, or came here to annoy the hell out of him. Still, Tim was curious.

“What are you doing here?”

“What? You can’t even smoke a cigarette on a rooftop in peace? I thought Red Robin was making those streets peaceful for everyone?”

“First. You have your red bucket still on your head, so I don’t know how you want to smoke like that. Second, making streets peaceful includes asking  _ Red Hood _ , the notorious mobster and boss of the majority of Gotham’s underworld, what the hell is he doing here?”

“’ _ The notorious mobster and boss of the majority of Gotham’s underworld? _ ’ Wow, Red, I didn’t expect such nice words about me from you. Stop it, you are going to make me blush.”

“Hood”

“What?”

Tim sighed.

“What are you doing here?” Tim asked, tiredly this time.

“Admiring the views.”

“Excuse me?”

“You may be excused,” Red Hood joked and shrugged. “Had to check a few things here, thought I might as well see if you didn’t run this place to the ground, Replacement.”

Tim’s mouth turned into a thin line, his pose clearly said he was getting slowly more and more angry.

Hood had that effect on him. Really, what Tim had been expecting?

Jason looked at him silently, assessing.

After a while Hood relaxed his pose too, making himself as non threatening as possible.

“I might also have a few questions for you, Red? No mocking this time,  _ promise _ .”

Tim, not happily, but had agreed. He didn’t know what Jason wanted his answers for – but if there was a minuscule chance his answer would have helped someone who  _ really needed _ Hood’s help, he didn’t want to risk it.

Still, the whole conversation left a bad taste in his mouth. For all the Hood said ‘no mocking’, he sure as hell liked to poke in his detective work.

&

After his patrol, Jason was sitting in his safe house, hunched in front of his laptop and finishing his fanfic. The newest chapter was going to take place in Red Robin’s territory and, because he kind of forgot a few details here and there, a little trip to the Eastside earlier was mandatory.

He didn’t expect to meet with Red there, but who is Jason to say no when opportunity arrives before him? With his questions, Red probably thought he planned to bomb the place in his territory or something.

_ Shame. _ They all thought it was the only thing he was good for. Bombing and making mobsters piss themselves.

Whatever,  _ right? _ The twerp should be happy he inadvertently helped Jason.

It’s not like Jason  _ didn’t _ recognize the photos in those edits – or rather, where someone would have to be to make those. His fandom friend ‘trauma_restaurant’ was saying that they made it with a drone, but Jason had his own suspicions.

First of all, the kid said they were from Gotham but his accent was all over the place? One time they used a nice upper-town accent, the next second they’d thrown in Narrows slang and – what Jay found the most suspicious – San Francisco slang. Dick was doing the same thing unconsciously, when he was non stop with the Titans.

_ Still _ , Jason could be wrong and ‘trauma_restaurant’ was some random Gothamite in his twenties, that was studying in San Fran and had a best friend from Kansas; liked photography and making edits, and had OPINIONS about Star Trek franchise and how Batman could improve and in general preferred Robins (although being unsure about the newest, 5 th one) than the bat-asshole.

So... yeah. Maybe Jason didn’t know Timmers that much, besides him being his replacement, but he had his  _ suspicions _ .

But  _ whatever! _ At least he had a friend to talk with about his hobby. Kory and Artemis weren’t interested the first time he talked with them about it. Bizzaro didn’t mind helping him work through fic or listen to his rant, but it wasn’t for him. Roy found it weird to read about people he personally knew.

So, in conclusion, it was nice talking with someone – and if it turned out it was really Tim Drake-Wayne, ex-Robin 3 rd and current Red Robin? Well, considering fandom ships they share, he couldn’t possibly try and judge Jason. And really, they might really work great together, as everyone says, so who knows?

But first he would have to apologize to Timmers for all the sit he got him through, didn’t he?

Would he even dare to forgive him?

From Jason’s point of view, he already forgave him for recruiting himself as Robin. Yes, it was shitty, and yes he still had some bad taste in his mouth when he thought about it, but – in the end of it – Jason was dead and couldn’t stop Bruce from making worse decisions in his life.

_ Really _ , most of his issues were seeded in B not killing the Joker. The rest? Anger from the Pit and whatever manipulations Talia and the League got him through.

Tim was innocent in Jason’s eyes. But Jason wasn’t in Tim’s. Couldn’t be.

Jason’s mood soured.

“At least we could have that,” he concluded, thinking about this friendship with probably-but-not-fully-proven Tim Drake.

Not wanting to think about the shit-show that was his life, Jason started drafting the next chapter.

Fandom was a nice escape from reality and he needed it right now.

“ _ Heh _ , wonder what he thought about this update.”

&

Tim has finished reading the update. It took longer than he expected, but,  _ on the other hand, _ he honestly hadn’t expected he would pause multiple times during reading trying to understand the sheer awe of what he was reading.

That fanfic would be his doom – he’s calling it now.

Regarding the update, thought: besides, being glorious as always, Tim found some things a little... weird. He had the same feeling whenever he learned about non-suspicious thing that later turned out to be evidence.

The newest chapter was taking place in his territory, but – from all chapters before – this one seemed,  _ weirdly _ , the most realistic? It was the little details that made him think like that. The details usually only he took notice of, from all the time he spent in the Eastside.

Or maybe Tim was paranoid from all those cases and the author's writing was simply getting better.

In this chapter the in-fic Red Robin and some OC ‘Joe’ (which, Tim was  _ certain _ , would be revealed to be dead Jason Todd – Tim was calling it here and now and he doesn’t care in the slightest when his friend says he’s not!) were working a case around alleys Tim found Red Hood today.

Red Hood in this story, however, was  _ a very different person _ than Jason he personally knows. It wouldn’t have been the first time fans would be wrong with the description, especially with the person you personally didn’t know – but it made Tim wonder. What he actually knew about Jason?

Tim pondered a little about that and concluded that… not much? He was of the opinion that he knew Jason from before his death  _ way better, _ than the one when he came back.

Which wasn’t some weird statement, considering he hadn’t even  _ wanted _ to know current Jason.

He had obvious reasons to think like that and it would probably take a miracle before he would have changed his mind. Honestly, he couldn’t have seen how his and Jason’s relationship could be better?

It wasn’t the aspect of Tim not forgiving Jason – or, partly, it wasn’t. Tim understood where Jason was coming from with that assault and understood that Talia had manipulated him. He still would’ve liked to hear an apology from Jason for almost killing, though. If Jason didn’t do as much, no matter how Jason changed (and it was easy to see that Pit wasn’t influencing him as much), Tim wouldn’t have any reason to think that Jay might want to befriend him.

Besides, Tim had to respect himself too.

So, waiting for an apology was it.

But would even Jason dare to attempt it?

Tim stopped himself there. There was time for ‘what ifs’, and another person’s actions weren’t it. Instead, his thoughts wandered back to the latest chapter and how it compared to what had happened.

Honestly, the Joe character was  _ so sweet _ in this fic, Tim was reminded of Jason during his Robin days every time he read about that guy (which only strengthened his theory!)

But the Red Hood in the fic, however... Red Hood in the fic was an asshole. He was demanding intel, while not giving that much explanation himself.  _ Obviously _ , Red Robin in this story was fucking annoyed and Joe (who was standing behind RR during the exchange) was intimidated and angry on RR behalf. Which was very sweet (and didn’t help Tim in  _ not _ shipping those two).

On the other hand, Red Hood as the most annoying asshole, while understandable portrayal, was surprisingly widely inaccurate, compared to the one Tim talked about tonight? Jason was irritating, like usual, but Tim was aware it was mostly cheap bravado, used to protect himself from others. Annoying, but not outright aggressive. When Hood wanted to be aggressive he got physical – Tim had scars to prove that, after all.

For a short moment, Tim started to wonder what Hood could have wanted from him today? He was very much nitpicking how Tim was doing his detective work,  _ like?? Who does that??? _ Like Hood was somehow better trained by Batman, or something. That asshole.

Thinking about Red Hood made Tim annoyed. Unfortunately, he was already  _ tired _ and  _ annoyed _ from all the work today and thought of what waited for him tomorrow. He was thankful for online college courses, because he couldn’t imagine going to classes like Steph in the ass o’clock, after wrestling with Killer Crock of all things.

So, to relax his mind for a little moment and not think about anything anxious in his everyday life, he opened discord to his chat with “JaneAustenIsBetterThanButtman”. He had to scream about the newest chapter to them. And maybe spoiler them what he was working on?

_ Oh, _ right. And tell about that stupid shit Conner did month ago. He promised to tell after all.

&

Some time later, Jay was reading what stupid shit was on TO3, while waiting for Tim to arrive.

The little cafe he was in was in Batgirl’s territory, and Steph annoyed all of them to visit at least once. The place in itself was nice and cozy, what you would have expected from not popular-chain ones. And their tea choices weren’t so bad.

Waiting like that – with hot tea and a pastry in front of him, and browsing through fanfics on his phone – Jason started to wonder what Tim had wanted from him

Because they weren’t really meeting outside of capes? Well, they didn’t really meet in the capes either, but that changed since Jason started to visit Red Robin during his patrol. He only needed to check things for his fanfics? And see how Red Robin acts (accurate portrayal was important, damn it!). Plus, annoying Red here and there was fun – he didn’t take any of his verbal punches, and actually could punch back with a sarcastic reply on his own.

And when Red Robin visited his territory? He didn’t know the ins and out and how people from Narrows thought, and Jason wasn’t feeling like leaving him alone like that there. Also, payback for the help should be given, right?

It’s not like they are friends or something.

But, maybe, what would have happened if Tim realized with whom he was talking about shipping lately? Does Tim even suspects it’s him? Jason tried to not say anything obvious, but rumor was that Tim was better detective than Batman, so who knows?

Would Jason even want for Tim to realize that?

Deep in his thoughts, Jason didn’t see when Tim arrived, walking from behind him.

When Tim sat, and Jason finally noticed him, Timothy was looking at him weirdly.

“What?” Jason asked, only a slight annoyance in his voice. Tim clearly wasn’t bothered by his tone.

“Eeehh… well.  _ Just. _ I didn’t know you were into fanfiction?”

_ Oh _ , so Timmers was aware of what he was looking at.  _ Interesting _ .

“You know that I like reading?” Jason replied non-pulsed with question on his own.

“Yeah but…?” Tim looked clearly embarrassed and Jason didn’t really understand why? Reading fanfiction was a popular pastime?

Or, maybe Tim didn’t feel like that? And was silently judging him right now? Now, Jason started to feel slightly embarrassed, because what if his theory was now wrong? That ‘trauma_restaurant’ is not Tim and Tim is some weird judgmental asshole?

Little more defensive and little more aggressively, Jason retorted.

“You have a problem with those?” he waved his phone.

“Um, what? …. _ No _ . No, I do not have a problem with fanfics, especially considering I read them myself. I was just… surprised you like them too?”

Timothy Wayne liked fanfiction.

Some part of Jason's brain screamed that his theory now had some more probability. Other wondered if, even if Tim wasn’t his fandom friend, Timmers was in the same fandom.  _ Oh god _ , what if he read  _ Jason’s works _ ?

Jason was equally curious and scared of Tim’s opinion. He wanted to know the truth, but at the same time, what if he was wrong and Tim had another reason to think of him as that psycho that writes fanfiction about him and other vigilantes? About Red Robin and Joe – who was totally going to be amnesiac Jason Todd and screw ‘trauma_restaurant’ for guessing it at the start – but what if he read that one too?

“You know, it’s actually much better that you are aware of fandom – it will make explaining easier.”

_ Oh god. _ It was this moment. Tim would ask him to confess his sins of nsfw fanfiction.

Jason crossed his arms and only raised his eyebrows to indicate he was still listening. His poker face was good in front of your typical bad guy. It, whoever, didn’t work in a casual civilian setting. Maybe because he used too much anger to hide what he thought, or because he didn’t have many casual conversations where he had to hide what he thought lately.

Tim looked flustered while explaining.

“ _ So _ , I kinda am in fandom and  _ well _ … making edits  _ for a friend _ …. And I need you to pose in Red Hood cosplay for a picture so...  _ please,helpmeI’llpay. _ ”

This… Jason didn’t…

“...I didn’t expect this,” Jayson admitted. “But, sure?”

Tim smiled so fucking brightly, Jason didn’t even know that always depressed and strict Red Robin could be capable of doing it.

It didn’t look bad on Tim thought.

&

The photo session was still taking place hours after patrol. Sun was slowly starting to shine from the east which gave a more warm and hopeful look to the whole composition.

“Are we finished?” Tim looked up from checking photos he made.

“Yeah, I’m quite satisfied with those,” he answered, packing the camera in the bag. “Really, thanks again for help!”

For most of the photo-shoot, Jason was silent. However one question was circulating his mind.

In the end, he had to ask.

“So. You like fics with Red Hood?”

Tim was taken aback.

“What?”

Jason answered quickly, trying to hide his embarrassment. “We just made a Red Hood photo-shoot for your fics’ covers, don’t blame me for assuming!”

“Ah….  _ Right _ . Well... some of them are quite good?” Tim answered hurriedly, clearly nervous and embarrassed. “What about you? Reading some superhero fics?”

Jay considered just saying ‘no’, that ‘it was mostly book fandoms’ and seeing Tim despair that he let Jason know about that part of him. On the other hand, Tim just admitted to liking fics with Red Hood and didn’t he wondered if he….?

“Some of them,” he finally said. “Although my favorite ones are with Batgirls. Like the one with BG#1 killing the Joker.”

Tim relaxed and smiled. Looking at him, Jason tried not to smile stupidly back. The picture of smiling Tim with the rising sun behind him was making him feel emotions he hadn’t expected.

“I think I know which one you are talking about, it’s good! There’s this one with Birds of Prey helping Brucie Wayne save Batman and – oh my god – it’s so hilarious, you gotta read that!”

Jason promised to read and gave some recommendations of his own. Tim didn’t mention Jason’s username or any of his fics, which made Jason  _ only slightly _ disappointed.

But in the end, he couldn’t deny that he was having fun talking about fandom stuff with Tim Drake on their way home.

  
  


That was the moment when Jason started to realize what he was feeling.

_ Oh no,  _ he thought.

&

Tim was really happy with the photos he took, but the whole session was a little bit weird in his opinions.

But him asking Red Hood,  _ Jason _ , for posing to a picture was weird in the first place, so who was Tim to judge? Maybe Jason felt as awkward as Tim when he brought up the question in the first place? That might be why Jay was unusually silent during most of it.

But the talk on their way home was… nice, Tim had to admit. It was really nice to have more friends to share his hobby with, who actually understood most of what he was saying.

Plus, actually spending time with Jason during boring patrol, was actually a fun pastime. At first, he wasn’t sure if he should do it, but then Hood was visiting him so often… Him visiting was only the matter of time.

And no, Jason was wrong, the best food trucks were  _ in Tim’s _ part of Gotham.

Still, Tim was beginning to learn that maybe Jason’s wasn’t that bad to hang out with. Besides, Jason  _ did _ apologize during the 5 th visit to Tim’s territory.

Putting thoughts about Jason for later, Tim logged into discord to show his friend the finished covers.

Praise was fucking awesome to get, Tim had to admit. But there was  _ something _ that Tim found weird, during their convo.

**JaneAustenIsBetterThanButtman said:**

_ >>>it looks awesome! _

_ >>>but I thought you would end up using the other photo???” _

Tim had to pause.

**trauma_restaurant said:**

_ >>>??? _

_ >>>what other photo??? _

_ >>>I didn’t send you any other??? _

**JaneAustenIsBetterThanButtman said:**

_ >>>with hood looking like jumping down?? _

How did they knew…?

**JaneAustenIsBetterThanButtman said:**

_ >>>wait _

_ >>>shit _

_ >>>forget it, I had dreamed that one _

_ Too late _ , Tim thought.

There was a little thought at the back of his head that screamed ‘red flags’. How would his friend know what pictures he took? He didn’t send them earlier, right? Or hinted at?

He checked the messages. Nope. Nada. No other pictures. No spoilers about what they contain. Was his phone or account hacked? No, Tim would have known way earlier if that had happened.

Suddenly he remembered all those little weird moments during their interactions. All those moments in fics that seemed  _ too realistic _ or his friend’s vast knowledge (which they dubbed ‘educational guesses’) about vigilantes' work.

Besides, Red Robin in those fics sometimes sounded like if it was the real Tim. Not to mention Red Hood.

Would it be possible that Tim… was stalked?

Tim wanted to say no, but he had been successfully stalking Batman and Robin since he was a kid. Plus, looking at his life, it was so ironic, it sounded exactly like something fate would put him through.

Still, action was needed. Starting from informing Red Hood about the potential breach in security.

&

When Jason received a call from Tim to meet him, Jason knew it was going to be.

He fucked up. He was tired and didn’t realize what he was writing, so  _ of course _ Tim now knew that Jason had been ‘JaneAustenIsBetterThanButtman’ all along.

He told Tim to meet him in his safe house. It wasn’t a cape kind of problem, and who knew? Maybe his forgiveness for all those lies might be bought by coffee and pancakes.

He heard frantic knocking and was a little surprised at the nervous state Tim was in. Quickly he let him in.

“Someone is stalking us. Or me,” Tim said in the middle of Jason’s kitchen.

Now Jason was  _ way more  _ surprised.

“Stalker?” he asked to be sure. “ _You?_ _You_ have _a stalker?_ ”

“I know, I know! It sounds so damn ironic, but listen, Jay! I have  _ proof _ .”

Tim paused to take a breath. Jason took his tea mug and took a sip.”

“Remember that fandom friend I talked to you about?”

Jason almost choked.

Tim didn’t realize this, walking around Jason’s kitchen and frantically explaining his reasoning.

“...See, at first I didn’t want to believe it too. They seemed like a nice person and all that, but then I was talking with them today and they said something that made me  _ think _ . Jay, they knew exactly what pictures I was taking with you that day! And looking again through their texts I realize they might have known  _ way more _ -”

“Hold up, Timmers. You trusted a stranger?  _ On the internet _ ? What else have you told them? Your home address and social security number?”

“Oi, shut it! My life stopped being private since I became majority shareholder at WE! But going back to what I was saying...”

Tim took out his phone, which he used for interacting with the fandom, opened the latest chat and held it in front of Jason’s face. “Try to tell me, it doesn’t sound suspicious to you.”

Jason… was tired. He ignored Tim’s phone to get his own.

“Here. Your explanation,” he said before showing the same chat on his phone.

“What?” Tim looked at the phone, and Jason wondered if his eyebrows could go even higher. “Jay,  _ what the hell _ ?”

“ _ Jesus, _ ” Jason snorted. At this point he decided to ignore Tim and start eating the pancakes. “And you are said to be Detective better than Batman.”

At the invitation, Tim joined him for breakfast. “ _ Excuse you, _ I was solving all the mystery plots in your fics!”

“And yet, you couldn’t piece together with whom you were talking about. What the hell, Timmers? And don’t think I still haven’t forgiven you for guessing the culprit in the first chapter!”

“That was  _ my fault _ ? You don’t know when and where to put the most important clues!”

“That wasn’t what you were saying under the last fic!”

They stopped bickering, not knowing what else to say and started focusing on their food.

Jason sometimes was snickering, realization of the whole situation hitting him. Every time he did that, Tim glared at him. Clearly still feeling too embarrassed, to see how funny the situation was.

Near the end of the breakfast, Tim started the conversation again. He looked determined, but way more calmed than earlier.

“So, we are both in the same fandom?”

Jason didn’t know where this was all going. Perhaps, Tim was still trying to understand the whole situation.

“Yup.”

“And we like the same  _ pairings _ …?”

“Looks like it?”

Tim put his mug down. “Let me rephrase that – we both like the idea of Tim,  _ me _ , being with Jason _ , you _ . No matter who wears what mantle, if they even wear one, correct?”

Jason looked him in the eyes.

“What do you expect me to say? That, yes? Apparently that’s the fucking situation we found ourselves in?”

Tim smiled.

“How about we make this pairing canon?”

Miraculously, Jason  _ did not _ choke on his tea.


End file.
